


Chaotic Good

by ABrighterDarkness



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Affection, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Food Fight, Multi, Natasha Romanov Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28350357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABrighterDarkness/pseuds/ABrighterDarkness
Summary: Thumps and thuds, running water, and the sound of familiar laughter.  Which, oddly enough, turned out to be the kitchen.  Natasha rounded the corner and went still as she took in the absolute chaos unfolding in front of her.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30
Collections: Star Spangled Secret Santa 2020





	Chaotic Good

**Author's Note:**

  * For [glim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glim/gifts).



Natasha blinked awake to a muffled  _ thump _ somewhere beyond the bedroom door. She wasn’t much of a napper, she hadn’t really ever had the time or opportunity, especially not to make a habit of it. It was a slightly more frequent occurrence these days, when a particularly lazy Sunday like this one earned her affectionate smiles and promised peace and quiet for an hour or so. Occasionally, she would even fall asleep with a warm body curled around hers and wake up warm and loved in the middle of a pile. 

Peace and quiet didn’t generally include sounds like that breaking through her rest, though. Natasha frowned in confusion, body instinctively alert, the lazy comfort that had allowed her to sleep peacefully long gone. As silently as she was capable, she slipped from under the covers and out of the bedroom.

More, similar, sounds reached her as she neared the source. Thumps and thuds, running water, and the sound of familiar laughter. Which, oddly enough, turned out to be the kitchen. Natasha rounded the corner and went still as she took in the absolute chaos unfolding in front of her. 

Chaos that seemingly consisted of three grown men flinging what looked like dough, batter, and all the deconstructed bits and pieces of those at one another. Still in their morning comfortable clothes, sweatpants, undershirts and barefooted, coated head to toe with everything from flour to eggs. That wasn’t even touching the state that the kitchen itself was in. The mixing bowl on the floor certainly explained the thud that had woken her.

As much of a disaster as it was, she couldn’t discard the peals of laughter. Loud and happy enough that it had prevented even Steve and James from hearing her approach. Steve all but glowing pink with a big grin even with his hair matted down with--Natasha didn’t even want to know what that was, actually. Sam laughing and immediately ducking to cover his head with his arms when the glob of--something, landed with a wet splat against the side of Steve’s face and Steve spun to return fire. James used their distraction to nail both with fist fulls of flour that clung to whatever moisture happened to be on their persons. 

God they were a mess.

Natasha crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. She considered a convincingly disapproving look but she knew she would be hard pressed to manage it. Destroyed kitchen or no, interrupted nap or no, they were happy. Seeing any of them, but maybe especially James, let go enough to laugh that hard, that freely was rare enough that Natasha couldn’t find it in her to be anything close to annoyed. 

Not to mention they were all perfectly capable of cleaning up their own messes afterwards. Natasha certainly wasn’t going to be the one to do it. 

Instead, she stayed where she was and just watched, smirking in amusement, sure that every ounce of fondness that she was feeling was evident on her face. 

There was no telling just how long it might have gone on. How long it would have taken them to realize that they had an audience or how long before they ran out of things to fling at each other. 

James caught sight of her first, going utterly still, eyes wide and a little guilty. The other two picked up on the change almost immediately, tracking his gaze and falling still as well. And then they exchanged wide-eyed glances and dissolved into a fit of laughter again. Big, loud, full-bodied laughs, all three of them. Each one pointing fingers at one of the others in explanation for what Natasha had walked in on.

“You boys,” Natasha sighed though she wasn’t having any better luck keeping her own expression composed. 

Natasha couldn’t exactly be surprised when Steve had a very rough time attempting to turn his giggles into a poor-attempt at a guilty smile. His giggles seemed to spur them from Sam and James as well and Natasha found herself staring incredulously at three men giggling like naughty children.

“Hey Nat,” Steve grinned, wiping a hand over the mess on his face and only managing to smear the mess further. “Have a nice nap?”

Natasha shrugged, choosing not to ruin the obvious enjoyment by admitting that their little food fight had been what had awoken her in a small panic. She tilted her head to the side, scanning each of them and the kitchen critically. 

“Do I want to know what this was supposed to be?” She asked with a smirk.

“Ah, cookies?” Steve blurted. “And pancakes?” He laughed and shrugged with a boyish grin that was far too mischievous for his own good. Natasha had very little doubt who actually started the food war. “We were trying to make some but then Bucky--”

“Don’t even try it, Rogers,” James interjected, shoving roughly at Steve’s shoulder. 

Steve laughed and shoved back, snickering when James’s footing slipped on the messy floor and gripped tight on Sam and Steve’s shirts to keep from falling.  _ “But then Bucky,” _ Steve repeated over James’ interruption. “Bucky thought it would be a good idea--”

“No, no,  _ Steve _ thought it would be a good idea to taste test the batter,” Sam corrected with a grin. “Bucky just thought it was a good idea to help him out.” Sam shot James a look and they both snickered.

Ah, so it wasn’t Steve that started it. Unusual but, admittedly, all the more amusing because of it.

Natasha just shook her head with a short laugh. “You boys are ridiculous,” she mused. Her eyes narrowed as Steve slowly inched towards her. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned.

“What?” Steve grinned in faux-innocence that really didn’t suit him. 

“Steve,” she said, inching back as he moved forward.

“Natasha,” he responded, grin widening. 

Natasha paused and Steve moved just slightly closer, hands extended toward her. Their cheerfulness sparked a playfulness that she didn’t generally indulge in and she smirked challengingly. 

And then she bolted.

She grinned as she vaulted over the couch, hearing Steve’s startled laughter behind her as he tore after her. From the sounds of it Sam and James weren’t far behind. She successfully ran and ducked and dodged them, all four of them laughing as ridiculously as they had been when she’d found them. She wasn’t remotely surprised when it descended into a free-for-all almost immediately. Natasha had expected it. 

The whole house was inevitably a mess by that point but Natasha couldn’t find it in herself to care. Especially the few times where she managed to duck around them in time to send them crashing into each other.

Besides, both they and the house were washable.

Natasha darted for the kitchen, swearing through her laughter when a strong arm belted around her waist and tugged her backwards against a chest. She automatically cringed when sticky wetness met the skin of her back and shoulders above her tank top. And then again when a messy hand playfully swiped the same sticky mess across the side of her face.

“Caught you,” James’s low voice said just next to her ear, only barely winded and the smile evident. 

Natasha shot a playful smirk over her shoulder, brow arched. “You think so, huh?”

James’ smile turned into a challenging smirk and his arm tightened around her waist. Natasha couldn’t quite help but rise to the occasion, utilizing one of her highly efficient, yet significantly less painful or damaging, maneuvers. He bit back a curse as he landed sprawled on the floor.

Natasha lunged toward the counter where the remnants of the cooking attempts layed destroyed and abandoned. The bowl not on the floor was presumably the bowl of pancake batter that had started all of this. Natasha smirked as she picked it up, turning to fling the batter onto the prone man. 

James sputtered, stunned momentarily still at the sudden coating. Natasha didn’t even try to bite back the peal of laughter at the expression. And then he grinned, sharp and wicked. 

“She’s fighting dirty now,” he called, tilting his head back just slightly to direct his words to Sam and Steve. And then he jolted forward more quickly than Natasha’s eyes could track, snagging her by the wrist and tugging her down on top of him. And, of course, right down into the mess of pancake batter she’d just poured on him, turning her laughter into a startled curse intermixed with what she would never admit to being a fit of giggles. He didn’t so much as grunt at the impact of her weight crashing against him, his grin only widened at catching her just enough off-guard.

He released her wrist to band both arms snug around her back, squishing her more firmly into the batter. Natasha laughed as she worked a hand between them, coating it in the batter before stretching her hand out to smear it over his face and back into his hair, curling her fingers and giving the strands a playful tug in the process. She braced herself and twisted abruptly, knowing without a doubt that she could break his hold if she timed it just right.

Just when she was sure that she had worked her way free, James tugged her back in and effortlessly flipped them. His arms released their hold to plant on either side of her head where his body weight pressed her into the kitchen floor with her legs draped on either side of his hips. Which, Natasha knew, was entirely intentional. James had just as much body control as she did. He wouldn’t have landed any way that he hadn’t intended to land any more than she would have. 

“Caught you again,” he taunted, leaning in to nudge his nose against hers. It was a sweet gesture that tugged affectionately at her heart. Though the smugness radiating off of him had her eyes narrowing even as she automatically leaned into the heated kiss that followed, spurred on by the playful tussle.

“Does Natasha fight any other way?” Sam asked, fond and amused, trailing behind Steve as they approached where James and Natasha lay. 

Steve didn’t offer his own response right away. Seemingly distracted entirely by just watching the scene in front of him to formulate any sort of commentary. That was Steve though, always so awestruck and consumed by even a hint of pleasure or affection between the rest of them. Oftentimes to the point of entirely forgetting about his own. 

James broke from the kiss with a sharp, teasing nip to her lips and grinned up at the other two. Natasha used the distraction to latch her legs around his hips and use the floor as leverage. He grunted in surprise as his back met the kitchen floor for a second time. Natasha smiled sweetly as she settled neatly in his lap and he laughed, hands squeezing her thighs on either side of him affectionately. 

“No,” he chuckled cheerily, belatedly answering Sam’s rhetorical question. “No she does not.” James exhaled heavily and let his eyes close for just a moment before he eased himself up just enough to curl an arm around her hips. He tipped in to kiss her again as he extended his other arm to accept Steve’s offer of a hand up. Natasha relaxed into the hold as James was pulled easily to his feet, knowing that he could take her weight easily. 

Steve’s warm hand braced against her back, just above where James’ arm carefully lowered her until she found her footing. Natasha pulled away, just slightly, breaking the kiss and running a sticky hand through her hair to get it out of her face. Her eyes trailed over the kitchen and what little she could see of the other rooms before taking in the three men and then herself. 

“Looks like you’ve got quite the mess to clean up,” she smirked, pointedly ignoring the slightly winded notes in her voice. She carefully extricated herself from their hold, taking a small step to the side until she was no longer between them. Natasha might have been entirely content to stay right there had they all been at their normal levels of clean. 

“You helped make it,” Steve pointed out, and then tilted his head in concession as he smirked. “A little bit.” The hand that had been on Natasha’s back settled automatically against James’ side, tugging him closer to fill the empty space that Natasha’s retreat had left. 

She hummed thoughtfully and shrugged, doing her best to at least pretend to ignore the hands that caught her around her ribs and gently guided her the half step back into Sam’s hold. His warm hands swept down her side before settling into a firm grip on her hips as the playfulness shifted once again. 

“Maybe,” she shrugged, automatically letting her head tilt to the side and back against Sam’s shoulder when his lips trailed heatedly down the line of her neck. Natasha could feel the sly grin against her skin and knew, despite being unable to see, that Sam was watching Steve’s reactions just as much as Steve and James were watching them. Teasing them just as much as Natasha and himself. “But I’ve got the shower first and you three started it. And made most of the mess. Which means you’re on clean up.”

“Hard to deny that logic,” James quipped, leaning into Steve’s side, his head tilted to the side when Steve took advantage of the nearness to nuzzle into his temple and press a lingering kiss to the same spot. James looked her over from head to toe with a cheeky smirk. “Good look on you though. Sure you don’t wanna keep it a bit longer?”

“I’m sure,” Natasha huffed dryly, feeling the batter and who knew what else already beginning to dry itchily on her skin. She grimaced and pulled away from Sam’s hold, rubbing her hands against her pant legs in an attempt to rid herself of the stickiness that was suddenly far more bothersome than it had been seconds before.

A warm hand circled her wrist followed by a damp washcloth swiping gently over her hand to remove the worst of the caked on mess. Natasha glanced up, more startled than she cared to admit, and Steve gave her a soft smile as he carefully cleaned off one hand before moving to the other. It wasn’t much, considering that Natasha was very nearly as much of a mess as the other three were but the gentle care settled the crawling sensation creeping over her skin. 

Steve glanced over his shoulder briefly as he tossed the washcloth back to the sink where it landed with a soggy splat. Then he squeezed her clean hands and pressed a light kiss to her hairline. “Go on,” he said softly. “We’ll take care of clean up.”

And they all did just that. The tentative heat that the playful chase and tussle had sparked, rather than burning sharp and bright, settled instead into a comfortable warmth throughout the rest of the day. Natasha could admit that she was a little sorry to have been the reason why the trajectory changed but not so much that she didn’t enjoy being clean again.

When she came back to the main rooms after her shower, she’s a little stunned at how quickly they were able to put the house back to rights. There would probably be a deeper, more thorough cleaning due in their near future, one that she’d undoubtedly be a part of, but definitely impressive for the short half-hour or so that she had been gone. 

Distracted by the vast change between the previous mess and the return to normal, it took her a moment to register that the furniture in the living room had been shoved against the far wall. The floor left bare and empty, clearing space for the massive pile of blankets and pillows that were dropped on top of the platform made of cushions borrowed from the couch and chairs. 

An arm belted around her waist, easing her back into a chest again, the second arm joining the first left no doubt as to who’s hold she found herself in. Though, thankfully, there was no wet, sticky mess for her to lean into this time. The familiar scent of soap and shampoo told her that they had taken the opportunity to trade off between cleaning up the mess and showering themselves. She could hear the sound of the washer running, indicating that the well-coated clothes were being set back to rights as well.

Natasha let her head fall back, chin lifting until she was able to look up. “Give up on the cookies and pancakes then?” she asked with a small smirk. 

Natasha had to admit that it was a little strange, the ease that he was touching her with. It was one thing, when he caught her about the waist in the midst of the playful moments earlier. When they were all moving and laughing a little freer than any of them typically did and the comparatively mild roughhousing had them more heated. That had made sense. This was different though she wasn’t inclined to consider it a bad sort of different. 

From the start of this ever growing dynamic that she found herself a part of, James had been considerably less inclined to initiate physical contact with her than he was with Steve or Sam. Casual, affectionate touch between the three men had been almost instinctual with little to no hesitation. Steve being the most common instigator with Sam not far behind. Both men were considerably more tactile in nature and less inclined to suppress it the way that both James and Natasha had been required to for so very long.

Natasha knew that such a thing was a hard habit to break and she was still slowly working through it. Allowing herself to touch and hold and allowing herself to be touched and held. She imagined it wasn’t much different for James. And Natasha was certain that she understood the origins of James’ reticence where she was concerned, largely due to their shared history and the guilt she knew he held for having a hand in what she had become. 

She had never been particularly bothered by the lack of casual affection between them, figuring that was simply how the dynamic fell. If they were all happy and accepting of the way things were, what was there to be upset about? The guilt bothered her. She couldn’t deny that, though she understood it as well as only someone of their shared background could. But Natasha didn’t chide or tease him for it, the way she might’ve done with Steve. Poked and prodded and tossed sarcastic quips until the lines of tension eased and that ridiculously fond smile returned. She had been certain that James wasn’t likely to respond to those the same way Steve would. 

Now though, she wondered what had driven her to that conclusion.

“Nah, Steve’s already thrown another batch together,” James laughed, interrupting her runaway thoughts. 

“Not going to help him taste test this one?” She teased, slowly allowing her body to relax more fully into his. 

All of that said, though, Natasha couldn’t be sure what caused that to shift now. Something so childishly simple as a food fight couldn’t be enough to break through one of the few remaining boundary lines between the four of them, could it? Perhaps it had gone a long way in showing that she didn’t blame him, didn’t hold history against him, actions being louder than words. 

“Chased me and Sam out before we could,” James said, shaking his head in mock-disappointment. Natasha rolled her eyes and let a small huff of amusement. His arms shifted, withdrawing to grip at her waist and settled her back onto her own center of balance. “C’mon, let’s get set up before Steve wraps up in there.”

“Where is Sam?” She asked curiously, leading the way to the mess of pillows, blankets, and cushions.

“Right here,” Sam answered, rounding the corner from the smaller bathroom. He shot them a curious look but gamely jumped in to help set up, moving to the opposite corner of the cushions and shaking out one of the large blankets. 

It wasn’t something that was a frequent indulgence, piling together on the floor in a nest of soft blankets and pillows, but every so often they gave into the odd comfort. Nightmares and bad nights--something all four of them suffered from--had been the origins. Providing closeness and comfort when it was sorely needed. Sometimes, though, they decided on it just because. Because they could and they wanted or needed it without dreams needing to be the cause. 

She wasn’t sure whose idea it was this time but she could admit that she agreed with it entirely. 

With the three of them working together, it didn’t take long to get everything set up. Though they did get momentarily distracted when James got that mischievous smirk before throwing a well-aimed pillow at Sam. The smirk turned into a smug grin when Sam sputtered and threw it back. Natasha had quickly settled back, seated on the floor and well out of the way of the playful tussle that inevitably followed. 

A food fight followed by a pillow fight? Natasha huffed a small laugh and shook her head, smirking up at Steve in amusement when he rounded the corner with a large try carefully balanced in his hold. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the ensuing pillow fight and then rolled his eyes. But his smile was as fond as it ever was. 

He lowered the tray onto the floor, well out of range to be accidentally knocked over, and sat down next to Natasha. Steve shot her a sly smirk and leaned forward into a crouch. Despite how quickly he moved, the shove of his hand to James’ shoulder was surprisingly gentle. Even still, it sent James tumbling off the cushions with an indignant squawk and a bitten back curse.

Natasha snickered softly but neither Sam or Steve bothered to quiet their own amusement. Much like the laughter that she had walked in on earlier after being woken from her nap, the laughter was loud, raucous, and full-bodied and it was only a beat later that James’ laughter joined in. 

Unsurprisingly, it took them several long minutes to calm again. Not that Natasha minded in the least. They’re ridiculous but they’re hers as much as she’s theirs. Steve was still grinning in amusement when he tossed the remote to Sam who caught it easily and began searching for something for them to watch. James grumbled in mock-irritation as he shuffled back onto the cushions and flopped down gracelessly next to Sam, which might have been more amusing to Natasha than the rest of it combined.

Eventually, they settled long enough to demolish the tray of food that Steve had finally been able to make without interruption before piling together on the mass of cushions, pillows, and blankets with something suitably entertaining on the television. Natasha curled comfortably against Steve, his familiar steady heartbeat under her ear, James’s side pressed against her back and Sam on his opposite. There was a hand in her hair, playing idly with the strands, it didn't belong to Steve, both of his hands were accounted for. But it was soothing no matter which one the hand happened to belong to, she didn’t quite care beyond that. 

Besides the movie, it was quiet. Considering the surprisingly pleasant buzz of chaos that had worked through the house, the quiet was somewhat unexpected. The hand in her hair had fallen still, too. It took Natasha far longer than it should have to realize that the stillness wasn’t because they were absorbed into the movie.

A soft snore came from just over her head and Natasha bit down on her amusement. She shifted just enough to peak over her shoulder without waking Steve to find James facing her with Sam curled snug against his back. Both sleeping as soundly as Steve was. 

Natasha had half a mind to wake them as obnoxiously as they had done her. The idea alone is enough to draw another bitten back chuckle. They really were lucky that she adored them as much as she did and because of that, she chose not to wake them. She didn’t really have the heart to, if she was honest. She didn’t join them in sleep either, though. Instead, Natasha settled back down and let herself enjoy the warmth and closeness.

The movie wasn’t bad either.


End file.
